Brillion Iron Works apartment complex rendering (Photo courtesy: AriensCo)
BRILLION, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Seven years after acquiring the property, Ariens Company began construction Tuesday to revitalize the former Brillion Iron Works facility.
“We are building a 42-unit apartment complex behind me,” said Brillion Works Director Elise Ariens. The apartments will be one or two bedrooms with garage parking available and will address the area’s housing problem.
“We noticed that there is a lack of housing in the area, and we wanted to create an opportunity for people to move to Brillion — to work and live and play here,” she said.
The apartments aren’t the only change coming to the area.
“We are actually going to reroute Spring Creek,” Ariens explained. “There is a portion that currently flows under the old foundry building, so rerouting that and daylighting it will help with the flood mitigation plan right now, as well as cleaning up the environmental remediation.”
Ariens said due to Spring Creek being under the foundry, any significant amount of rain could flood the surrounding areas, including streets and parking lots. The planned movement of the Creek would bring it away from areas it would normally flood.
Ariens said Brillion Works has sought funding for the projects already.
“The apartment complex is being funded by the Brillion Works team, as well as two private investors. And then the stream project is being funded by three large grants we received. One in particular was the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency, which gave us 2.4 million dollars,” Ariens said.
The total estimated cost of the stream project is $3 million, while Brillion Works said that it cannot share the total cost of the apartments yet.
The stream project is expected to be finished spring 2026, with the apartments following next fall.
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